450 rt restoration or race

[Joe Davis]

I have a nice lower and cylinder for a 450rt and a non desmo head. I also have a decent rt frame.
I realize that obtaining and building a 450 desmo head would be 2500 dollars at least.
In a project like this it is so easy to invest more in a "restoration then the end product is worth.
I have also always held there are certain bikes that should be brought back to life, for the "honor" of the
bike. I've always admired the RT. I have in the past built and run a nc 350 that Mike Green at WCBR raced for
me.. (I've also lent the 350 to a friend who ran it at the Classic isle of Mann tt. we DNF. As far as the TT is concerned I'm going in a different
direction for the 350 class I don't think the ducati 350 is viable for an over all win)
I run a small pro flat track team (we won all the Steel Shoe Races this year with Sammy Halbert riding my xr750)
I was wondering what the opinion of this group was to cannibalizing an rt to racing. Or are they rare and important enough
that they should be returned to "stock" I realize this is a very personal opinion but input from your members would
be appreciated. I respect the opinion of people that are dedicated and knowledgeable about the Ducati singles
thanks
joe

[Ventodue]

FWIW, Joe ...

It might be a shame to do too much butchery to a genuine RT frame (that said, unless you got really drastic, it could always be put back again).

Otherwise, build it, race it! That's what Ign. Taglioni would have wanted! After all, it's not like you're taking an assembled bike and carving it up. You're putting one together!

Just my 2 pennuth

[Rick]

Joe-
A complete desmo 450 R/T just sold on Ebay for $3600.00, about the same value as a rusty old minivan, so your valve spring R/T isn't much of a treasure- racing it wouldn't qualify as sacrilege- it was sold as a racing bike, lighting was an option.
The frame geometry of the R/T is sort of unusual- the engine is a long ways from the front wheel and the swingarm is short- it came with a 21" front wheel, and going with a 19" or 18" wheel would make the steering even quicker- would be a handful to keep it going in a straight line at speed.
Sounds like you're a hot rodder, so you might be interested in a short stroke, high revving 350- if you put a 250 crankshaft in your 450 engine you end up with a 350 that would probably be faster than the 450- a 250 crank and a 450 engine have been resting under my bench for a long time- hope to do it someday.
Rick

[Eldert]

Hi Joe

a original RT frame dont get around corners very wel . another thing is with the very short rear swingarm it is easy to pop wheelies .

i build a 500cc RT for myself as a roadbike and i made the rear swingarm 2 inches longer and steepened the headstock by about 3 degrees

made a world of differance in the steering

Eldert

[double diamond]

I’ve see a number of beater R/T’s come up on ebay, auctions and swap meets. Berliner allegedly brought in a relatively small number (1200?) but they still turn up regularly. They’re not so rare that you shouldn’t take liberties with an incomplete example. There are many R/T chassis out there with the 450 desmo engine removed to live on in vintage roadracers. I have a 450 R/T chassis that I’m planning on installing a 350 in like the 1971 ISDT bikes. The frame I have may have been one that Niel Fergus modified. It doesn’t have a straight tube on it and the steering head has obviously been moved around. Extending the swingarm sounds like a good idea as well. I don’t think I’d start hacking up a good original chassis though; you never know what the future holds for these and it is an interesting model. It’s not going to be a front runner but it would be great to see it out there!

Matt